Abstract: The Foxconn A690GM2MA-RS2H motherboard is based around AMD's 690G / SB600 chipsets, and although it has both DVI and analog video outputs, it regrettably lacks the HDMI jack that many other AMD690G motherboards boast.79% Rating:

HD Content Playback and Max Motherboard Overclocking Chart

Playing high
definition content on current generation PCs can bog down even the fastest
processors because there is more data to handle. AMD's AVIVO is a collection of
different video technologies that share a common name, like Centrino or ViiV for
example. First and foremost, AMD's AVIVO includes a hardware accelerator for
MPEG-2/DVD Microsoft Windows Media HD video standards (WMV HD) and H.264
standards. AVIVO is built into the Gigabyte GA-MA69G-S3H's Radeon Xpress 1250
videocard and helps to enable such features as Home Theatre PCs (HTPC) or
Personal Video Recorders (PVR) with the appropriate 3rd-party software
applications. AVIVO can automatically adjust gamma and colour correction, and
that should enhance picture quality too. High Fidelity Colour allows for 10-bits
per colour channel, which translated basically means a more vibrant picture.
There is also a high quality 12-bit analog-to-digital converter to reduce
picture noise as well.

To test
AVIVO's HD accelerating capabilities, we played the High Definition Blu-Ray
movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen through CyberLink PowerDVD 7.2
Ultra. CPU utilization was monitored during playback through Task Manager to
give a general indication of system load.

High Definition Content Playback
Utilization Results

720p Resolution:

CPU
usage when running the 720p video of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
hovers around 45-55%. That's relatively high but in the grand scheme of
things allows for perfect playback and still leaves plenty of CPU
resources for background tasks.

PCSTATS Maximum Motherboard
Overclocking Chart

Overclocking is alive and well! PCSTATS has all the details
you need to see at a glance to know which board is best. The chart we've
compiled below lists the highest overclocked Front Side Bus speeds we were able
to achieve while maintaining 100% stability.

Typical Test System
Specifications: AMD Athlon64 X2 5000+, 2GB Corsair Twin2X2048-8888C4DF
DDR2 Memory, MSI NX7800GTX-T2D256E/MSI NX8800GTS-T2D320E-HD-OC. Please see
individual review for more specific test details. If you're new to Overclocking and not sure what to
do, check out these two excellent Guides for some pointers:Overclocking the CPU and Memory, Overclocking the Videocard

It is worth mentioning that the Foxconn A690GM2MA-RS2H
motherboard is not aimed at the enthusiast crowd at all. In that respect, an
overclocked speed of 260 MHz from an entry level motherboard isn't too bad.

The final
thoughts on this Foxconn motherboard are next. Will it sink or swim?